


Human

by WraithWriter



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Angst, Basically uh, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I don't really know what this is, humanizing zoya nazyalensky, i guess, it's cute I think, oh god idk just read it, tag for fun, zoyalai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21823552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WraithWriter/pseuds/WraithWriter
Summary: The running joke among her students was that Zoya Nazyalensky was less human than most.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Human

The running joke among her students was that Zoya Nazyalensky was less human than most.

They whispered over lunches of herring and rye, looking to outdo each other in manufacturing the most ridiculous of stories and glancing over their shoulders all the while.

_Sometimes her jewel blue eyes glittered silver and slitted. If you looked too closely, they’d turn your blood to ice and skin to stone._

_The king wore gloves to hide talons, they said, and the General could grow her own._

_If you walked past her rooms at night, you’d see strange lights flickering beneath the door and hear her speaking in tongues._

_The ancient tomes in the library told of monsters so extraordinarily beautiful you’d slit your own throat if they asked. The sleeves of her kefta covered a siren’s scales, sharp and still slick with seawater._

_Heavy black hair hid tiny horns, and if you were brave enough to summon a wind to toss it every which way, you just might catch a glimpse._

Genya Safin brought the high tales to her on quiet nights when they were likely to fall asleep on each other’s shoulders before a fire, their only companions a plate of pryaniki and cups of tea long gone cold. Of course she quite enjoyed this reputation of hers - it made for well-behaved students and a good laugh, if nothing else. Sometimes, though, the Tailor wondered if the world would ever appreciate just how human the Grisha commander was.

How she swelled with pride at a student’s job well done. How she worked daily without complaint and fell into bed hours past sunset, exhaustion limning her every movement come morning. How she grew frustrated with herself as much as anyone else, head braced in her hands when she thought none could see. How she loved the country she fought so fiercely for and it’s king who was equally stubborn in matters of the heart.

She wondered if they would ever see how she laughed until she cried, griped about incompetent courtiers while sitting in only her bath towel, and delighted in her favorite sweets, dusting powdered sugar from her hands. She wondered if they would ever feel her cool fingers on a brow damp from nightmares filled with swirling shadows and lashing claws.

The students would always whisper, but Genya had the sneaking suspicion that if someone were to look close enough, they would see that Zoya Nazyalensky was too human.

**Author's Note:**

> If you think Genya Safin doesn’t see how Nikolai and Zoya feel about each other, you’re wrong - Genya knows all :)


End file.
